Coloring or coating applicator and guard therefor



Jan. 9, 1951 J. c. LANIUS, JR 2,537,468

COLORING OR COATING APPLICATOR AND GUARD THEREFOR Filed May 1, 1947 or along edges of objects.

Patented Jan. 9, 1951 UNITED STATES COLORING OR COATING APPLIGATOR AND GUARD THEREFOR James C. Lanius, J12, Evansville, Ind. 7 Application May 1, 1947, Serial No. 745,176

7 Claims.

I This invention relates to a tool or device for the application of a coating or coloring medium and more particularly to a guard associated with i an applicator for the purpose of ap lying'a coating or coloring medium such as polish or paint to a limited or restricted area. Still more particularly the invention relates to a paint or polish guard for attachment to a brush or the like,

Mea-ns or devices of the general type referred to have been heretofore known in which a guide is rigidly carried by a brush or like applicator for the purpose of guiding the brush or applicator in the application of paint, for example, in stripes In another instance it is known to provide a guide member in association with the brush or applicator used with a bottle or container of fingernail polish. In these instances the construction is characterized by a lack of perfect coordination between the guide and brush or applicator and in some instances the guide is so associated with the applicator as to preclude an accurate view of the work being accomplished. This disadvantage is particularly true in the manicuring art wherein it is desired to apply polish or the like to the nail without smearin the polish on the cuticle surrounding the nail. it is in this field that the present invention finds its most particular application; although, the principles of the invention may be suitably applied in other circumstances.

It is a principal object of the invention to pro vide an improved instrument or tool including an applicator with which is associated a resilient guard member so arranged as to have a working portion generally in alinement with but spaced from the bristles of a brush Or corresponding working end of a comparable applicator, the nor- ;mal bias of the guard being such that the brush or applicator may be moved toward and away 7 from the working end of the guard or baffle in the application of paint, polish or other coating or coloring medium, the guard serving as a positionable mean toward and away from which the Working end of the applicator may be moved and further serving as a stop beyond which the applicator cannot be moved. It is an important ob ject of the invention to provide such means in the form of an attachment to the closure member of a container, wh ch closure member contains a brush or similar applicator extending inside the connection with the applicator when the closure member, applicator and guard member are 1'e-.

moved from the container. Other objects of the invention are to associate the principles of the invention in a particular form with a container for fingernail polish; to provide an improved guard member in conjunction with a container wherein the container has a recess or cavity for receiving or housing the working end of the guard; to provide an improved container construction havin a portion shaped to complement the guard member associated therewith; to provide a guard member of flexible or resilient construction that may be simply and inexpensively manufactured; and to provide a tool or device of the type described characterized by great simlicity and wide flexibility in the use thereof.

The foregoing and other important objects and desirable features of the invention will become apparent as the disclosur is more fully made in the fOllOWiIlg detailed description of preferred embodiment of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying sheet of drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is an end elevation of the invention shown in conjunction with a nail polish bottle of 7 conventional type;

applicator and guard apart from the container or bottle;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional View taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the structure shown in Fig. 3 as used in the application of paint .or polish to a fingernail;

Fig, 6 is a perspective view of the invention as applied to a container of modified shape; and

Fig. '7 is a perspective View illustrating the use of the invention in conjunction with a conventional paint brush.

Although the invention will be described primarily in conjunction with its use in the art of applying paint or polish, it should be understood that the disclosure of the preferred forms herein is only representative of the general principles .of the invention and that the fundamentals of the invention may have considerably wider application.

Figures 1 to 5 The numeral l0 designates a nail polish bottle or container which may be of any conventional type having an externally threaded coaxial neck H provided with an opening l2 through which access may be had to a supply of paint or polish l4 W thin the bottle. The open d o h 1- tainer is normally closed by a closure member or cap 15 internally threaded to fit the external threaded neck H and carrying an applicator in the form of a brush [G having a bristled or working end adapted to receive paint or polish from the supply [4 within the container. The cap it'- is preferably of a molded plastic material and may have embedded therein the upper end of a guard member i! (Fig. 4.). The guard is preferably in the form of an elongated strip of spring metal or other resilient material having generally the configuration of the letter C (Fig. 3), having its open end toward the container (Fig. 2) and extending in its configuration downwardly and outwardly from the cap i5 and then inwardly and downwardly toward the base of the container H) at which point the lower end of the guard i1 is provided with a short angularly related working portion IS.

The base of the container it may be enlarged at a portion thereof and this portion may be provided with downwardly directed recess or cavity l9 which normally receives or contains the working end [8 of the guard 51 when the parts I5, 16 and H are associated with the container as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4. The normal bias of the resilient guard H is such as to dispose the working end portion 18 of the guard in laterally spaced relation to the working end of thev applicator [6 when these parts are removed from the container (Fig. 3). Stated otherwise, the principal axis of the guard 5! lies in a vertical plane that includes the principal axis of the applicator. The parts are maintained in a generally similar position when the container is closed (Fig. 2), the guard being sprung slightly so that the end 18 thereof may be carried in the recess or cavity [9. The general longitudinal extent of the guard member i! is such as to dispose the member generally in alinement with the applicator [B as respects a plane passed through the principal axis of the applicator and intersecting the member.

Because of the threaded engagement between the cap and the neck I! of the container it,

the cavity or recess l9 may be coordinated with the threaded connection so that the working end l8 of the guard is always in position to be received by the recess it when the member [5 is screwed to its final closure position. When it is desired to remove the cap 15, the lower end of the guard is simply released from the cavity l9 and the cap is unscrewed in the usual manner.

The use of this form of the invention is best illustrated in 'Fig. 5. The cap l5 together with its components l6 and I! is removed from the container ID with a supply of paint or polish on the bristle end of the applicator. The working portion it of the guard 11 is laid against the cuticle surrounding the nail, the nail being indicated at N and the cuticle: at C. The bristle 'over a continuous area the length of the nail and the width of the bristles.

The guard portion it prevents the smearing of polish or paint on the cuticle C. The tool may then be moved laterally and the workingend portion is laid against another portion of the cuticle C and the process repeated until the desired coating or coloring of the nail is accomplished. The application of the paint or polish may be achieved speedily and, because of the configuration of the guard ii and its relation to the applicator IS, the person using the tool may clearly see what she is doing. This is in contradistinction to prior devices in which a guide is so closely associated with an applicator as to prevent a clear view of the work being performed.

2 Figure 6 In this illustration a modified form of bottle or container is shown at as including a pair of opposed wing or bulging portions 2! of generally arcuate shape. A decorative cap is indicated at 22 to which a guard member 23 may be attached in the manner shown in Fig, 4. The base of the bottle or container 20 is indicated as having a recess or cavity 24 in which the lower or working end portion of the guard 23 may be received or contained. The configurations of one of the bulging portions 2| and of the guard or bafile '23 are complementary so that the latter follows the former and presents a container having, in addition to its utilitarian characteristics, a pleasing appearance. The bulge 2| at one side of the bottle serves as a protector for the guard 23, keeping it from catching on' other articles, as when the unit is carried in a womans purse, for example; and the other bulge 21 provides symmetry. The structural and functional aspects of this form of the invention may be the same as those of the form previously described.

Figure 7 This figure illustrates the use of the invention in conjunction with an ordinary paint brush; the brush being indicated as having a handle portion 25, a working or bristled end 26 and a guard member 21. The handle and bristles 2B are alined generally on the principal axis of the brush, as are the corresponding parts of the applicator It. The guard 21 is generally of arcuate or C-shaped configuration having one end secured to the handle 25 of the brush, as by a screw or bolt 28, and having a free end 29'provided with a working end portion 30, the transverse dimension of which is appreciably greater than the transverse dimension intermediate the ends of the member so that the portion 30 isof substantial area transverse to the longitudinal extent of the brush. The normal disposition of the guard 21, together with its portion 30, and the bristle end 25 of the brush is such that the parts 25 and so are spaced laterally apart because of the normal bias of the resilient guard member 27, so that the components ordinarily occupy positions corresponding to those of the components shown in Fig. 3. In the use of this form of the invention, the portion 30 is placed against an edge adjacent the object to which coating or coloring medium is to be applied and the brush is drawn across the adjacent surface in a manner corresponding to the application of paint or polish as described in connection with Fig. 5. The general longitudinal extent of the elongated guard member 21 is. such that the member 21 is in a plane passed through and including the principal axis of the brush. The connection 28 between the handle 25 of the brush and the upper or secured end of the. member 2? may be such that the member .21 maybe re- ?5 moved from the brush.

In general the cuticle in the same manner that an orange stick is used. In addition, the end of the guard may be used to clean under the nails. Inasmuch as the guard construction of Fig. 7 may be removed from the brush, it may find separate uses as a scraper for paint, wallpaper, etc. The configuration of the guard or baffle is of importance in permitting the desired flexibility in operation and in providing for a clear view by the operator of the work being accomplished. It is not necessary, of course, that the guard assume precisely the arcuate shape shown. Likewise, other details of construction need not be exactly as illustrated, since various modifications and alterations may be made in the preferred forms of the invention disclosed Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is: l

1. In combination with the removable closure element of an open top container of the type adapted to contain a supply of coating or coloring medium, wherein the closure element includes an applicator adapted to extend downwardly inside the container and provided with a lower working end portion positionable adjacent the bottom of the container and adapted to receive such coating or coloring medium from the container: a guard positionable outside the container and comprising an elongated, relatively narrow member of resilient material capable of temporary deformation by both flexing transversely and twisting lengthwise as respects its principal axis and readily returnable to original form and having generally the configuration of the letter C with its open side positionable to face toward the container and having upper and lower ends, the upper of which is secured to the closure element and the lower of which includes a working end portion, said member curving in its configuration downwardly and outwardly from its upper end and then inwardly and downwardly so that the working end portion thereof is positionable outside the container generally at the level of the bottom of the container and the working end portion of the applicator but spaced appreciably laterally from the working end portion of the applicator, whereby, when the closure element, together with the applicator and member, is removed from the container, the resiliency of the member provides for the working end portion of the applicator to be moved toward and stroked away from the Working end portion of the member during the application of coating or coloring medium.

2. In combination with the removable closure el ment of an open top container of the type adapted to contain a supply of coating or coloring medium, which closure element is provided with an applicator adapted to extend downward- I 1y inside the container and including a working end portion positionable adjacent the bottom of the container and adapted to receive such coating or coloring medium from the container: a guard I ment and the lower of which includes a working end portion, said member having a configuration including a portion extending outwardly from and integral with its upper end and an integral portion extending then downwardly and includ ing the working portion integrally therewith, said working portion being normally positionable outside the container generally at the level of the bottom of the container and the adjacent working end portion of the applicator, and the normal of the member being such as to space the working end portion of the member an appreciable distance latera liy from the working and portion of the applicator, whereby, when the closure element, together with the member and applicator, is removed from the container, the resiliency of the member provides for the working end portions of the applicator to be moved toward and stroked away from the working end portion of the member.

3. A tool for the application of a coating or coloring medium, comprising: an applicator having a handle portion and a working end portion generally alined on the principal axis of the applicator; and a guard including an elongated resilient member capable of temporary deformation by both flexing transversely and twisting lengthwise as respects its principal axis and readily returnable to original form and having as to dispose the free end thereof normally in appreciable laterally spaced relation to the working end portion of the applicator, the resiliency of the member being such as to provide for movement of the working end portion of the applicator in strokes of appreciable length to ward and away from the free end of the member and back and forth across the lateral spacing between the working end portion of the applicator and the free end of the member so that the latter serves as a positionable guard defining a limit to movement of the working end portion of the applicator at least in the direction toward the member as said working end portion is used to apply coating or coloring medium.

4. The invention set forth in claim 3, in which: 7

the free end of the member is provided with a guard element of relatively substantial area having a transverse dimension appreciably greater than the transverse dimension intermediate the ends of the member.

5. A container for nail polish or the like, comprising: a bottle having a base and an open top and including a bulged portion bulging outwardly generally from an upper part toward a lower part of the bottle; means on the bottle providing a recess spaced vertically from the top of the bottle toward the base of the bottle; a cap removably Wardly into the bottle; and an elongated, re-

silient guard member outside tle bottle and having a, configuration generally conforming to the bulging portion of the bottle and including an upper end secured to the cap and a iowerportion releasably contained by the recess. I

6. A container-applicator-guard assembly 0 the character described, comprising: an open top container adapted to contain a, supply of coating or coloring medium; a closure element fitting the top of the container and having an applicator extending normally downwardly inside the container and provided with a lower working end portion adjacent the bottom of the container and adapted to receive such coating or coloring medium therefrom; a guard in the form of an elongated, resilient member capable of temporary deformation by both flexing transversely and twisting lengthwise as respects its principal axis and readily returnable to original form and ineluding upper and lower ends, the upper of which is connected to the closure element and the lower of which includes a Working end portion, said member having a configuration including a portion extending outwardly from and integral with its upper end and an integral portion extending then downwardly and including the working portion integrally therewith, said working portion being normally positionable outside the container generally at the level of the bottom of the container and the adjacent working end portion of the applicator, and the normal bias of the member being such as to space the working end portion of the member an appreciable distance laterally from the working end portion of the applicator, whereby, when the closure element, together with the member and applicator, is re moved from the container, the resiliency of the member provides for the working end portion of the applicator to be moved toward and stroked away from the working end portion of the member; and means on an outside portion of the container providing a recess for receiving the working end portion of the member when the container is closed by the closure element. the closure element has means providing a thread '7. The invention set forth in claim 6, in which: the closure element has means providing a threaded engagement with the container for attachment thereto and removal therefrom; and

JAMES C. LANTUS, JR.

REFERENCES orren The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Willis Aug. 21, 1906 McKinney May 13, 1941 Numb-er 

